It is well known that hot paraffin or, alternatively, wax has many therapeutic properties and provides many benefits when applied to the human body. One such benefit is moisturizing the skin. Further, removing solidified paraffin has an exfoliating effect. Consequently, skin treated with hot paraffin is said to have a silk like feel. As a result, paraffin treatments are commonplace in spas and other homeopathic treatment facilities.
Another therapeutic benefit of hot paraffin treatment is obtained by heating a patient's body parts, particularly joints and muscles. The penetrating heat from hot paraffin helps relieves pain and stiffness in afflicted joints, relaxes muscles, reduces muscle spasms, and stimulates blood circulation to the affected area. Paraffin treatments are therefore useful before or after exercise, massage or other physical therapy. In addition, paraffin treatments are used in the symptomatic relief of pain due to arthritis, bursitis, fibrositis, tendonitis, chronic joint inflammation, muscle strains, sprains, or spasms, and additional athletic conditions in which heat therapy is recommended and beneficial. Paraffin treatment is frequently prescribed for post-fracture and post dislocation treatment.
Traditionally, paraffin for therapeutic purposes has been applied to the human body by dipping body parts into paraffin warmed to a flowable state. The body part is subsequently withdrawn and the paraffin allowed to at least partially solidify. Further benefit may be had by repeatedly dipping and cooling additional layers of paraffin onto the body part to increase the heat content conveyed to the patient. However, the traditional approach leaves much to be desired.
First, due to the need to physically dip the body portion in flowable paraffin, applying paraffin to many body parts, such as the knee or shoulder joint, is difficult. Although hot paraffin may be blotted or painted onto a body part, such an approach does not promote uniform coverage and, thusly, uneven transfer of heat to underlying joints and tissues results. Also, heat is lost during the blotting or painting which reduces the beneficial effects of the hot paraffin treatment. Painting and blotting further causes unwanted waste of the paraffin due to handling by blotter or brush and spattering of hot paraffin in unintended directions.
Second, regardless of the application method, hot paraffin comes into direct contact with the human body in the traditional process. Of course, once the paraffin dries and the treatment is deemed completed, the paraffin must be removed from the body. In the past, removal has been by way of simply peeling solidified paraffin from the body part. Unfortunately, traditional paraffin treatments require time-consuming clean-up of both patient and workplace because removal of solidified paraffin by peeling often creates small fragments of paraffin that attach to the patient's skin or fall away into the workplace.
Accordingly, a need exists for a method for hot paraffin treatment that does not entail dipping a body portion into hot paraffin. It would be desirable to have a process where hot paraffin could be applied to a selected body part in an even and controlled manner. A process that maximizes the heat delivered to the body part would be especially advantageous. In addition, a method providing improved paraffin removal from the body part would be further desirable. Finally, a method providing reduced or minimal clean-up of paraffin following the treatment is needed.